Donorschoose.org identified 30 semi-finalists from the 428 projects. Then, a committee of Connecticut teachers, school leaders, union leaders, non-profit leaders, and state leaders selected the five most promising and inspiring projects that model the key themes of personalization, relationships, and connections.

Laura Munafo, a reading teacher at MD Fox School in Hartford, was one of the winners for her “Seeing Ourselves in the Stories” project.

“So that my students could have books that accurately represent their race and ethnicity, language, their home life because it’s harder for students to connect with books when they can’t see themselves represented in them,” Laura Munafo said.

The four other teachers included, Liz Matthews of Hartford Public High School, Pamela Santerre of Three Rivers Middle College Magnet High School, Jeremy Susi of Fairchild Wheeler High School, and Sheena Graham of Warren Harding High School.